We're Best Friends Because I Like You
by PandaBare101
Summary: What happens when Elena's best friend comes back that she hasn't seen in over three years? Will they remember each other? Will the become friends again? Find out! ;D Summary sucks as usual. Please read and review!
1. Chapter 1

**For all you writers out there, do you ever get an idea for a story and instantly start writing it, but midway through you don't know how to continue? That's where I'm at. I had the beginning, sort of, and I for sure have the ending, but I don't how to continue my current story, (High School Sweethearts).**

**Don't worry! I promise to finish it. I just feel that my last two chapters weren't all that great and I don't want to continue until my mind is all there.**

**So... Here's another story. I have this all written out and all my chapters are done. (With the exception of slight changes and editing). I was planning on uploading this when I finished my other story, but that's not gonna happen any time soon.**

**The deal with this story, it's slightly similar to High School Sweethearts. All the same people, they're all in high school, but the storyline is different and there will be A LOT of flashbacks. I hope you all enjoy it. **

* * *

Elena Gilbert sat on her bed with a sigh. Tomorrow would be the start of a new, and final, year of school. And Elena couldn't wait. The past three of years of school weren't _terrible, _but they weren't all that fantastic either. Ever since the last day of school in eighth grade, things weren't the same.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

"_Damon!" Elena whined. "Where are you taking me? And why do I have to be blindfolded?"_

"_Shh." Damon whispered, playfully. "Please be patient, Elena. We are almost there."_

_Damon tugged his best friend through the forest with him to the place they first met. He had some very.. Unsettling news and thought this would be the perfect place to tell her._

"_Alright." Damon said, abruptly stopping, making Elena stumble. He quickly caught her and carefully pulled the blindfold off her. "Ta-Da!" Damon exclaimed._

_Elena took in her surroundings, a small grin appearing on her face, but it quickly vanished and was replaced with a frown as she stared at her best friend. "What's the matter, Damon? We never come here unless something is wrong._

_Damon frowned, looking at Elena. He didn't know how to break the news to her. This was gonna be harder than he thought. _

_Damon ran his hands through his hair and sat down on a rock, motioning for Elena to join him. "I have to leave, Elena."_

"_What do you mean, Damon? Where are you going?" Elena asked, looking to Damon with her big doe like eyes._

"_I'm moving. My Dad got a new job and I have to leave. So does Stefan." Damon explained as he watched Elena's eyes start to brim with tears. He wiped away her tears with the sleeve of his shirt and pulled her to him, embracing her in a tight hug._

"_When?"_

"_As soon as I get home. I just found out last night." Damon mumbled, wiping the newly formed tears._

"_I don't want you to leave, Damon. You're my best friend!" Elena muffled into Damon's shirt. "You can't leave."_

"_It's not my choice, Elena. If I could I would stay here or I would sneak you with because I honestly don't want to lose you. You're my best friend."_

"_This is probably worse than dying."_

_Damon stifled a laugh and rested his head on Elena's, frowning. "I'm gonna miss you."_

_Elena pulled away from Damon and gazed into his piercing blue eyes. "I'll miss you too. Promise to never forget me?"_

_Damon grinned and held up his pinky finger. "I promise."_

_Elena smiled and linked her pinky with his and rested her head on his shoulder. "I'll see you again, right?"_

"_Of course, Elena." Damon said, resting his head on hers and wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "I'll write to you and call you."_

"_Where are you moving to?" Elena asked, rubbing circles into his palm._

_Damon shrugged. "Not sure. Father never told us." _

"_Oh.."_

"_Don't worry. I'll come back for you. I'll get on my shining armor and horse and we will kidnap ya!"_

_Elena giggled and looked up to her best friend. "You don't have armor or a horse!"_

"_Yet!" Damon said with a wink. "Don't underestimate me, Elena."_

"_I'm not, Damon. I'm not."_

_The two best friends sat in each others arms for hours. Both talking about past memories and what they're going to do the next time they see each other._

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Elena remembered the memory as if it just happened yesterday and it frustrated her more than anything. Because that memory was nothing, but a lie. Sure Damon and his family left, but he never did write or call. He did call her the next day when they were all moved in. He told how much he missed her and that Colorado is really far from Mystical Falls, but that wouldn't stop him from writing to her.

That was the last she heard from him. She tried to contact him too, but she didn't know his new address and when she called him she always got a message saying the phone number was no longer in use.

Stefan didn't even bother to contact her either. It didn't really surprise Elena. Her and Stefan never seen eye to eye on things, but they were still really good friends. Almost like her second best friend you could say. She remembers when they first met.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

"_Ooh, Are you my brother's new girlfriend?" The five year old boy sneered, sticking his tongue out._

_The little girl frowned and looked at her feet. "No.." She mumbled._

"_Yeah you are!" The boy yelled. _

"_No. I'm. Not!" The girl shouted, balling up her fist and falling off the swing._

"_Yes!" The boy yelled back, hopping onto the swing._

_The girl examined her legs, noticing the little cuts and scrapes and started to cry._

_Damon noticed on the other side of park and dropped the ice cream cones he was holding and rushed to his friend. "Are you okay, Elena?" He asked, breathlessly._

_Elena looked up, tears spilling down her face and shook her head. "That boy was being mean and made me fall off the swing." Elena complained, pointing to the boy whose expression changed when he saw Damon._

"_No I didn't Damon! She's lying."_

"_I don't believe you, Stefan. You apologize right now."_

"_I'm sorry, Elena." Stefan mumbled._

"_Good, now get off the swing." Damon demanded, pulling Elena to her feet._

_Stefan quickly jumped off the swing and ran to the other side of the playground. Damon glared at his brother as he left. He turned to the swing and gestured for Elena to get on. Elena smiled and hopped on the swing as Damon pushed her._

"_I don't like your brother, Damon. He's not very nice." Elena explained._

"_I don't like my little brother either, Elena. What did he say to you?"_

"_He called me your girlfriend and I got really mad and fell."_

"_Why?" _

"_Cause he is mean, Damon!"_

_Damon laughed. "I know! Why did you get mad at what he said?"_

_Elena blushed and looked down. "Because Damon. We're only six. We have to be older to be boyfriend and girlfriend."_

"_Oh, well how about you be my best friend and I'll be your best friend?" Damon suggested, slowly stopping Elena's swing._

"_Why?" Elena asked with confusion. "I thought we were friends."_

"_We are, Elena! But I want us to be best friends."_

"_Why?" Elena repeated, throwing her arms in the air._

_Damon groaned, smacking his hand with his forehead. "Because. I really like you, Elena. If were best friends that will mean we will be together forever."_

_Elena's eyes went wide as she jumped off the swing and stood in front of Damon. "Is that better than boyfriend and girlfriend?"_

_Damon pondered the thought before slowly nodding with a grin. "Yep. And you don't have to be old to be best friends."_

"_Really?"_

"_Really!" Damon grabbed Elena's hand and pulled her towards the ice cream cart. Stefan ran up to the two and frowned. "Why are you holding hands?"_

"_Because Steffy, Elena and I are best friends." Damon said and continued walking._

"_I wanna be best friends too." Stefan whined, running up to Elena and grabbing her other hand._

"_No!" Damon yelled, smacking his brother. "She is my best friend." _

_Elena giggled and looked between the boys. "We can all be best friends. As long as you're nice to me." Elena said, looking at Stefan. He grinned and nodded his head. "I will be!"_

_Damon frowned and grabbed Elena's hand tighter and whispered in her ear. "But me and you are special best friends."_

"_I know, Damon. Because you really like me and I really like you."_

_**XXXXXXXXXX**_

'Of course Damon is in that memory too.' Elena thought to herself as she cleaned her room. He was in all of her memories. He was practically her past. The two of them did everything together. She picked up a framed picture of the two them she had sitting on her nightstand. Damon was in his swim trunks and had sunglasses on with his arm wrapped around Elena's waist. She was in her bikini and was holding a water gun. The picture was taken a few days before he left.

"Knock, knock." Jeremy said, entering his sisters room and frowning as he watched his sister place the picture back. "You still miss him, huh?"

Elena nodded and turned to her brother. "Of course, Jer. He was my best friend."

"Well Stefan was my best friend, but I got over him moving a long time ago."

"You're such a boy." Elena replied, chucking a pillow are her brother.

Jeremy threw the pillow back and grinned, falling onto a nearby chair. "Thanks. Seriously though, you should get over it."

Elena groaned, falling face first onto her bed. "I know. I can't though. We were really close. We have a huge history. I can't just let it all go."

"Yeah, and you can't let it take over your life. I get it, Elena. You loved him. You were best friends as were me and Stefan. I got over it; so can you." Jeremy stated, leaving Elena's room.

Elena sighed, rolling over and facing the framed picture again. "It's not that easy."

* * *

**What do you all think? Better than the other one? Or worse..**

**Please review and let me know!**

**Check out my other stuff if you haven't already! :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Not as many reviews as I was hoping for, but it's better than nothing! And they're great reviews!**

**Thank you all VERY much! I'm so glad you like it! :)**

**Please enjoy and review! ;) Thanks.**

* * *

"_I don't know about this, Damon." Elena said, looking up at the big school and holding her best friends hand._

_It was Elena's first day of middle school and to say she was nervous would be an understatement. She was scared to death. Her only friends for the past six years were Damon and Stefan. And she didn't even really think of Stefan as a friend._

"_Elena, there is nothing to worry about. You have me and I have you; that's all we need." Damon replied, reassuringly, and squeezing Elena's hand tighter._

_Elena smiled at Damon as the two walked into the high school. She was too busy looking around the school and didn't notice a group of kids running towards her and Damon until their faces met the ground._

"_Ouch." Damon groaned, rubbing his head. He slowly stood up, pulling Elena along with him._

"_Are you two okay?" A blonde haired boy asked._

_Damon and Elena glanced at each other and nodded. "How about you guys?" Elena asked with a frown._

"_Yeah. I'm good." The other boy with dark hair said._

"_Us too." A dark haired girl answered, pulling a blonde girl up with her. "I'm Bonnie Bennet." _

_Damon smiled at the girl and gave her a small wave. "I'm Damon Salvatore and this is my best friend, Elena Gilbert!"_

"_I'm Matt Donovan." The blonde hair boy offered his hand. Elena and Damon greatly shook it._

"_I'm Caroline Forbes!" The blonde girl replied, cheerfully. "And this Tyler Lockwood." Tyler sent a glare at Caroline before returning his attention to Damon and Elena._

"_That girl is your best friend?"_

_Damon smirked, pulling Elena closer to him and nodding. "Of course. Is that a problem." Tyler rolled his eyes and walked away. _

"_Don't pay attention to him. He's always in a bad mood." Matt explained._

_Damon looked at Elena and shrugged. "Ah, no big deal. More Elena friendship for me." Damon said and pulled Elena tightly to him._

"_I think it's adorable!" Caroline gushed, clapping her hands together._

"_Yeah it is." Bonnie agreed and frowned. "I want a boy best friend like that."_

"_Me too." Caroline crossed her arms. "Boys are jerks."_

_Matt threw his arms around Caroline and Bonnie. "Ladies, you have me."_

_Bonnie and Caroline looked at each other before pushing Matt way and walking down the hall. "Wait." Matt yelled as he ran after them._

"_Did you see that, Damon?" Elena asked, moving away from him. Damon frowned. "What do you mean?"_

"_That boy Tyler thinks it's lame that your best friend is a girl."_

"_So." Damon replied with a shrug. "I don't care what he thinks."_

"_I do. I want you to have a lot of friends, Damon."_

"_I don't need a lot of friends." Damon replied, grabbing Elena's hand. "I have you and that's all I need."_

_Elena shifted her gaze to Damon and gave him a small smile. "Really?"_

_Damon smiled back and gave her a hug. "Really. You're my best friend forever. That will never change."_

_Elena linked her arm with Damon's as the two explored the hallways. Damon playfully elbowed Elena in the side, gaining her attention. "By the way..." He whispered closely to her ear. "Those girls think it's adorable that were best friends."_

_Elena looked down and blushed. "So.."_

"_So.. I think it is too."_

"_Really?" Elena asked with a laugh._

"_Yeah! I'm cute and you're cute. Obviously were cute!"_

"_You're weird, Damon." _

_Damon faked a frown, causing Elena to giggle. "That's not very nice, Ms. Gilbert."_

"_Sorry to break it to you Mr. Salvatore, but as your best friend I think I have the right to call you whatever I want." _

"_Fair enough." Damon said, putting his hands up in defense and stopping in the middle of the hall. "As long as I can call you whatever I want."_

_Elena was about to protest, but Damon quickly put his finger up to her lips silencing her. "Before you argue, what I have to say is nice."_

_Elena raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms, staring at her best friend intently. _

"_Out of the girls in this huge school, you are the beautifulest one I have seen."_

"_Damon.. I-" _

"_Tag! You're it!" Damon yelled, tapping his best friend on the shoulder and running down the halls, filling them with his laughter._

"_Damon Salvatore." Elena groaned. "You're so gonna pay for that." She yelled, chasing her best friend down the halls._

**XXXXXXXXXX**

"Are you alright?" Jeremy asked his sister with a worried expression. She's been staring at the front of the school for five minutes without saying anything.

"Oh, yeah I am. Sorry, I was just remembering my first day of Junior High."

Jeremy rolled his eyes and pushed his sister towards the entrance. "Seriously, it's your last year of High School and that's all you can think about?"

"No, Jer. It was just a memory."

"Let me guess... It involved Damon!"

"Shut up!" Elena yelled, pushing her brother. Jeremy gave her a big grin and laughed. "Come on, Elena. That was too predictable."

"I'm going to my locker now." Elena said, leaving her brother. She searched a few of the halls for her friends, but couldn't find them. 'I wonder where they are.' Elena asked herself as she walked to her locker. She glanced at her schedule and grabbed the necessary books for class. She shut her locker and went down a few more halls and still couldn't find them. 'Where are they.' She yelled with frustration.

"Sorry to interrupt you, but I'm new and I was wondering if you could help me locate my locker." A boy asked.

Elena turned around and her eyes nearly popped out of her head at who she saw. "Oh my god, Stefan. Is that you?"

"Elena?" The boy yelled. He quickly pulled Elena into a hug and grinned. "It's been too long."

Elena pulled away from Stefan and smiled. "No offense Stefan, but we weren't really friends."

"I'm willing to change that if you are?" Stefan suggested with a wink. Elena rolled her eyes and lightly pushed Stefan's chest. "Right."

"No, seriously Elena. You look awesome. Stunning, actually."

"Thanks, Stefan. You don't look too bad yourself. The past few years have done you good."

Stefan grinned and pointed to his teeth. "I know! Check it out! No more braces. And..." Stefan quickly pointed to his eyes. "No glasses. I'm officially a stud."

"I won't argue with that."

"So, how have you been?" Stefan asked, walking with Elena down the hall.

"Not too good, honestly. I've missed Damon so much. And of course you too, but mostly Damon." Elena sighed.

"He never forgot about you, you know?"

"Really?" Elena asked with disbelief.

"How could he? You were his best friend."

"Where is he now?" Elena asked, stopping at a classroom.

"Probably trying to hook up with girls." Stefan responded with a shrug. "The usual."

"Sounds like he's the same old Damon." Elena joked.

"No kidding!" Stefan exclaimed. "It's like Damon times ten. Puberty just boosted his ego even more. Hell, I don't even think he hit puberty. He went from boy to man in less than a year."

Elena couldn't help but burst out laughing as the bell rang. Stefan looked down to his watch and pointed to the classroom. "I'm going to head to class and you should too."

"Sure, see you later." Elena waved and walked to her classroom. Her mind was running through so many things. Stefan has changed so much. Where are all of her friends? And where the hell was Damon?

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Elena frowned as she entered the cafeteria and didn't locate any of her friends. Where were they? She hasn't seen them all day. She smiled when she spotted Stefan and Jeremy sitting at a table together. She thought about joining them, but decided against it. She sat at a table alone letting her thoughts take over.

She looked around the room and let out a deep sigh. She hasn't seen Damon anywhere. Or maybe she has and she didn't even recognize him. Would he even want to see her? According to Stefan he never forgot about her, but she hasn't even seen him and it was driving her crazy.

"May I sit here?"

Elena broke out of her thoughts and nodded. "Sure, doesn't look like any of my friends will be joining me today.

Stefan gave her a sympathetic look as he sat down. "Where are they?"

Elena shrugged as she play with the ring on her finger. "I wish I knew."

"Sorry." He mumbled, taking a bite from his apple. "Want one?" He asked.

Elena nodded and smiled. "Thanks, Stefan." She carefully examined the apple, making Stefan laugh. "It's not contaminated. I didn't do anything to it."

"I don't know if I should believe you. I don't want to relive what happened a long time ago."

"Whatever, Elena." Stefan rolled his eyes. "I'm a changed man."

"I know. I was just joking." Elena took a bite of the apple. "Where's Jeremy?"

"Oh, with some girl Vicki."

"Ah! Of course he is."

"Where's Damon?" Stefan asked, looking around the cafeteria. "I thought for sure you would be with him."

Elena shrugged, looking down at the apple. "Not sure. I haven't seen him at all today."

"Dammit. He was suppose help me with grocery shopping. If we don't see him by the end of the day would you like to join me?"

Elena nodded. "Sure. I was suppose to go to the movies with Caroline and Bonnie, but they're M.I.A."

"Sweet!" Stefan exclaimed, standing up.

"On one condition." Elena added, leaving the cafeteria with Stefan.

"What?"

"You tell me what the hell you're doing back in Mystic Falls."


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey! So I'm finally updating this story. Yay! I promised I would, so here I am. Thank you all for the reviews so far! These chapters are kind of random with flashbacks, but I absolutely love flashbacks so please don't hate :P**

**Please review and check out my new story in the making "Me & You… What Future?" and my older story "High School Sweethearts" if you haven't. I should be updating both soon. Please be patient.**

**Here it is! I hope y'all enjoy it :) **

* * *

"_Are you alright?" Damon asked, looking at his best friend. _

_Elena shook her head and looked around nervously. If her mom finds out she's going to be dead. "We should go back. Please Damon?"_

"_No way Elena! I wanna go play."_

"_Please Damon?" Elena begged her friend, stopping in the middle of the sidewalk, causing people to groan in frustration._

_Damon stuck his tongue out at a man passing by and looked at his friend. "Why? They're taking forever."_

"_My mom said to stay by her and Jeremy. And your dad said you need to stay by him too."_

_Damon rolled his eyes and continued walking down the sidewalk. "They won't even notice that we're gone."_

"_Elena? Damon? You two better get back here!" The two kids turned around to where they heard the sound of Damon's dad yelling. "Um…" Damon pondered. "Run."_

_Elena watched her friend book it down the street. Elena looked back to where they yelling was getting closer. She groaned in frustration and followed Damon down the sidewalk. The two continued running until they reached the park._

"_Really? The park?" Elena asked between breaths. "We're eight, Damon. Not five like your brother."_

"_He's seven, actually. And he loves the park, and so do I." Damon replied, sitting down on a vacant swing._

_Elena sighed, and sat on the swing next to Damon, struggling to swing on her own._

"_Need help?" Damon asked, swinging back and forth._

"_No."_

"_You sure?" Damon hopped off the swing. He walked behind Elena and gently pushed her when she swung towards him._

"_Really? This is embarrassing." Elena groaned. _

"_It is not. Get over it!"_

"_The park is for little kids." Elena crossed her arms._

"_Says the girl that's afraid to leave her mommy's side. I wouldn't let go if I were you by the way."_

_Elena rolled her eyes. "You're dumb, what does that have to do with the park?"_

"_Well, the park is for little kid's right? You're scared to leave your mom's side. Obviously you're acting like a little kid." Damon responded, pushing Elena a little too hard, causing her to fall face down in the dirt. Damon quickly ran over to his friend and kneeled down. "Are you okay? I'm so sorry."_

_Elena looked up with tears in her eyes and shook her head. "No, I hate you Damon!" _

_Damon frowned and hugged Elena. "I love you Elena. I'm sorry."_

"_What is going on here?" Giuseppe Salvatore asked. Isobel Gilbert was closely behind him. She gasped when she saw Elena. "Oh no, Elena. Honey what happened?"_

"_I pushed her too hard and she fell." Damon replied, looking sadly at ground._

"_It was my fault. I wasn't holding on."_

"_Boy, get up." Giuseppe ordered. Damon scrambled quickly to his feet and stood in front of his father. "I told you one thing, Damon. One thing. What was that? Or do you not remember."_

_Damon sighed. "You told me to stay near you."_

"_Exactly. You couldn't even do that. And you had to drag poor Elena out with you. On top of it you hurt the poor girl." Giuseppe yelled, smacking Damon upside the head._

_Isobel watched the interaction in horror and put a hand on Giuseppe's shoulder. "Don't blame Damon for everything. Elena is perfectly capable of making her own choices."_

"_Of course." Giuseppe agreed. "Damon of course had an influence on her."_

"_How can you be so sure?"_

"_It's Damon. We all know what Damon is capable of."_

**XXXXXXXXXXX**

"You still with me Elena?" Stefan asked, waving a hand in front of his friend. Elena quickly nodded and continued to stare down the sidewalk. "Sure. Sorry Stefan."

Stefan shrugged. "So, want to know why Damon and I had to leave or why we're back?"

"I would kind of like to know both. If you don't mind sharing." Elena replied, looking towards Stefan.

Stefan nodded and looked towards the ground. "Well, a few years ago my dad found out he had cancer. He only had maybe a year left. He thought the best idea would be for us to move to Italy so he could spend the rest of the time he had with family."

Elena gasped and put a hand on Stefan's shoulder. "I am so sorry Stefan. I had no idea."

Stefan gave Elena a small smile and out his hand over hers. "I know you didn't. And thank you. I think us moving to Italy was for the best. Maybe not for Damon and me, but for my father it was."

Elena nodded. "I understand that you all were going through a hard time, but you couldn't keep in contact?"

Stefan shrugged and shoved his hands in his pockets. "It was hard. Different time zones. Damon had your number written down but he lost it and that was pretty much his only way to stay in touch with you. I'm not going to lie Elena, he was absolutely devastated, as was I, but you two were far closer than you and me were."

Elena shook her head and looked down the road. She had a hard time believing that. If he cared so much he would be the first she would see when they came back, not Stefan. "So why are you back?"

Stefan rubbed the back of his head and let out a sigh. "It's slightly complicated. There were some family issues and my Uncle Zach thought it would be best for Damon and I if we came back to Mystical Falls. For good."

"So you're not leaving anytime soon?" Elena asked with hope.

Stefan smiled and nodded. "As far as I'm concerned, no. Zach use to live here years ago. I think you might have met him. He really likes it and he's missed it here."

"Good!" Elena linked her arm with Stefan's and smiled. "You've been gone long enough. Hopefully your brother will decide to make an appearance sometime soon."

"Don't worry. He just did." Stefan replied, gesturing to in front him.

Elena raised an eyebrow and looked to where Stefan was pointing. Elena's eyes went wide as she shook her head. "Damon?"

"Hello Elena."


End file.
